In part 1, I explained why you may want to avoid certain exercises if you have an existing shoulder injury or are dealing with shoulder pain. I also discussed how to modify other exercises to prevent shoulder aggravation.
In this second part, I dive into the exercises you should focus on more to keep your shoulders feeling strong and healthy.
Prioritize horizontal pulling
One of the best ways to keep your shoulders feeling healthy is to train your back. However, as we discussed in part 1, vertical pulling can actually aggravate shoulder issues and may be totally out of the question for some.
Instead, focus on rows and other horizontal pulling exercises. These can be completed with a variety of implements. Some of my favorite rows include chest supported rows with dumbbells or machines, 1- and 2-arm bent over rows with barbells or dumbbells, inverted rows using a TRX or smith machine, and seated low rows using a cable machine.
Face pulls using bands, cables, or a TRX should also be a staple movement in all workout programs.
To ensure safety and effectiveness, follow a few key steps when completing any row variation:
- Start with your arms fully extended out in front of you. Think about reaching ahead without allowing your shoulders to round forward.
- Initiate the row with your elbow and only pull until your upper arms are even with your sides to avoid forward dipping of your shoulder.
- Add a 1-second squeeze to the flexed position of all rows to maximize engagement of the back muscles and keep you honest with the weight.
- Never allow your shoulders to shrug up toward your ears. Think about keeping your shoulder blades in your back pockets.
I have most clients perform 1-2 pulling exercises for every pressing exercise.
I recommend training rows with a variety of loading methods. Some rows, such as barbell bent over rows and pendlay rows, can be loaded quite heavy and performed for sets of lower reps. Others, such as machine rows and dumbbell bent over rows, work well with both higher and lower rep schemes. For best results, train your back using as many set and rep schemes as you can.
Include reaching movements
Many times, shoulder pain can occur because the shoulder is not able to move through a complete range of motion. When you place your restricted shoulder under heavy loads, such as in an overhead press, bad things can happen. In healthy individuals, the shoulder blade should be able to move up and around the rib cage without restriction.
To visualize this, first extend your arm out in front of your chest. Now, imagine someone is holding a $100 bill just beyond your fingertips. If you think about reaching for the bill, you will find that your shoulder blade pushes out to the side and provides your arm with a few extra inches of range that you didn’t have before. This is known as reaching and is an important part of full shoulder mobility.
In part 1, we discussed packing the shoulder blades to safely perform bench press variations. For most other pressing exercises, however, we want the shoulder blades to move during the lift. Incorporating reaching exercises in your program is a crucial part of maintaining healthy shoulders.
Landmine pressing
If you have cranky shoulders but still want to do some pressing, the landmine is going to become your new best friend. The landmine is a gym tool that attaches one end of a barbell to the floor and allows the barbell to rotate and move freely at an angle. Landmine pressing provides many of the same benefits of regular overhead pressing without placing your shoulder in an unsafe or painful position.
Follow these steps for a great landmine press:
- Begin with your hand at the end of the barbell and your elbow at an angle slightly less than 90 degrees.
- As you exhale, push the bar up until your arm is fully extended.
- At the top of the movement you should be reaching as far as you can without allowing the shoulder to shrug up.
- Always keep your elbow beneath the bar as you press.
Landmine pressing can be performed in half-kneeling, tall-kneeling, standing, and staggered positions. I recommend starting in the half-kneeling position to help you engage your core and resist arching your lower back.
Push-ups
Although they are a horizontal press much like a bench press, push-ups require you to move your shoulder blades throughout the movement rather than keeping them packed together.
Follow these steps for a great pushup:
- As you lower your body toward the ground, the shoulder blades should move back together toward your spine.
- At the top of the pushup, reach your arms into the floor and pull your shoulder blades apart as far as you can.
- Always resist the urge to shrug your shoulders and keep them down away from your ears throughout the exercise.
- Keep your elbows at around a 45 degree angle of your sides as you descend.
The bear and bear crawling
A third way to incorporate reaching movements in your training is to use bear variations.
Get into a bear position by starting on all fours (hands beneath the shoulders, knees beneath the hips, and a flat back). Reach your arms into the ground as far as you can, raise your knees a couple inches off the floor, and get up on your toes. Beginners can practice holding tension in this position, much like a plank, for a fantastic core exercise.
Make this more challenging by slowly crawling forward or backward with alternating pairs of opposite arms and legs. Always try to reach down through the floor and maintain your flat back as you crawl.
Shoulder raise variations
If your goal is hypertrophy, you can still put on size without hurting your shoulder. Depending on the nature of your shoulder issue, you may be able to complete light shoulder raise variations without pain.
Always lead with your thumbs rather than your pinky on front and lateral raises to keep the shoulder out of internal rotation. Never use heavy weights on these exercises. Use a weight you can lift for 10-20 reps at a slow tempo with perfect form.
You should also spend lots of time training the rear head of the deltoid with different reverse flye variations. Even in healthy lifters, the rear delt is one of the most neglected muscles. Putting on some size here helps give your shoulders a round, 3D look. If you don’t tolerate lateral or front raises, you should still be able to hit this part of the shoulder.
Some of my favorite exercises for this muscle are bent over rear delt flyes, seated rear delt flyes, prone reverse delt flyes on a bench, and reverse pec dec. You also train these muscles with face pull and band pull apart variations. As easy way to get more volume for the rear delts is to add a set of 10 band pull aparts between sets of all your other exercises. Work up to 100 band pull aparts during each workout.
Don’t let a shoulder injury slow you down
You can still have a great workout while dealing with cranky shoulders. Be smart about which exercises you choose to include in your program. Avoid the overhead position and ensure that your shoulders are moving properly for each pressing exercise you perform. Do as many different row variations as you can and include some extra volume for the rear delts.
If you need help putting together a program that helps you reach your goals without pain, please contact me here.